Brendan Fraser’s Comeback

The lounge at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles was a sea of tears. Brendan Fraser had won as the best actor for The Whale at the Critic's Choice Awards and the general feeling was “Yes! Life can give us a new chance!” At that moment, at the pinnacle of a career rising from the ashes like a phoenix, Fraser dedicated his prize to his director, Darren Aronofsky, a Brooklyn Jewish boy who was the only one who believed in him.

Fraser tearfully said, "I was in the wilderness and I probably should have left a trail of breadcrumbs. But you found me and, like all the best directors, you showed me where I had to go to get to where I needed to be."

Brendan Fraser was a Hollywood star in the '90s and early 2000s, with hits like George of the Jungle and The Mummy franchise but then he fell off the radar. his career took a nose dive in the mid-2000s. The actor suffered several physical injuries that complicated his career, went through a difficult divorce, and he felt ostracized after accusing the then-director of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association of sexual assault.

It takes a sensitive soul to see hidden greatness.

Darren Aronofsky managed to pull him out of obscurity and orchestrate his comeback in a role that is garnering rave reviews.

The film is based on a play about a 600-pound professor who seeks to reconnect with his daughter. Aronofsky waited 10 years to make the film. "The reason it took 10 years to do is that I couldn't figure out how to cast it," Aronofsky said in an interview, "and then I stumbled on a trailer of a low-budget Brazilian movie and Brendan had a small role in it and he's amazing... a light bulb went off."

It takes a sensitive soul to see hidden greatness.

Darren Aronofsky and Brendan Fraser in The Whale

Darren was raised by his parents Abraham and Charlotte in a Jewish home where, in his own words, they identified with his roots "celebrating the holidays, knowing where you came from, knowing your history, having respect for what your people have been through."

Brendan Fraser isn’t the only actor Aronofsky rehabilitated. In 2007 Aronofsky had directed three films that achieved "cult" status: Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain. But he still lacked a breakthrough to enter the Hollywood A team.

Aronofsky used his talent to find a diamond where no one else could see it. For years the director was working on a film about a professional wrestler trying to recover his former glory. In a surprising twist, Aronofsky cast Mickey Rourke to play the lead in his film The Wrestler. The Hollywood star of the '80s was similar to the protagonist of the film, a washed-out figure whose career was almost extinct.

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

Aronofsky believed in Rourke’s potential, fought for him to get the role, and had to even push him to get out of bed every day. His gamble paid off: the film was a box office and critical success, Rourke was received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and took home numerous awards. Variety hailed Rourke’s performance as being “among the great, iconic screen performances."

The Mishna proclaims, “How dear is Man, for he is created in God’s image” (Ethics of the Fathers, 3:13). Every single person has intrinsic value and tremendous greatness, but sometimes these qualities are obscured by external issues and one’s lack of awareness of his inner strengths. It’s all too easy to look at the superficialities and not see another’s latent greatness waiting to shine.

Look deeper; the greatness is there. And to pull it out sometimes all a person needs is someone who sees his potential and believes in him.

Darren Aronofsky knew these two actors had far more to give. This week, Brendan Fraser is expected to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Whether he wins or loses, his personal comeback is a victory that has inspired many.